Using behavior skills training to teach recreational motor skills to middle school students with moderate disabilities
Use BST to teach ball skills to middle-schoolers with ID/ASD: model, rehearse, give feedback, and graph trials.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Three middle-schoolers with autism and intellectual disability took part.
The team used BST to teach kicking, catching, and throwing.
Each kid got a quick model, then practiced while the coach gave instant feedback.
They tracked every trial on a graph to see progress.
What they found
All three students learned each ball skill.
Skills also spread a little—better catching helped throwing too.
Graphs showed clear jumps right after BST started.
How this fits with other research
Osnes et al. (1986) did the same thing 36 years earlier.
They used BST to teach playground conversation, not ball skills, in the same age group.
Both studies show BST works for kids with moderate disabilities in regular schools.
Spealman et al. (1978) used BST with adults in a clothing-picking task.
Big gains lasted months, proving BST sticks across ages and skills.
Why it matters
You can run BST in any gym or hallway.
Model the kick, let the kid try, mark the score, and praise.
No extra gear is needed—just a ball and a data sheet.
Try it during recess or PE and watch both social and motor gains climb.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
AbstractMotor skills are important for everyone as they are linked to one's amount of physical activity. Recreational motor skills are especially important for students with disabilities so they can participate in games and activities with their same‐age peers. However, many individuals with disabilities are not proficient in these skills. The purpose of this multiple baseline across skills study was to determine the effects of behavioral skills training (BST) on middle school students with disabilities' (age 12–14 years old) kicking, catching, and throwing a ball. Three students participated in the study. All participants had a diagnosis of both intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder. Findings revealed that implementation of BST did improve the participants' recreational motor skills. Results also suggested that for some students, generalization across skills can occur when using BST. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are provided.
Behavioral Interventions, 2022 · doi:10.1002/bin.1880